Olympus Academy
by Saramander016
Summary: Nico is forced to go to a boarding school where he hopes he'll find friends... But does he find something else?
1. Welcome to Hell

Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell

I'm not a troubled kid, I swear, I'm just exceedingly unlucky. No matter what I'm doing I can find a way to fuck things up. Even my relationships with my parents are terrible. I don't think that they really care for me, but when the headmaster at the public school told them that they thought I'd do better at the academy for rich, troubled kids they barely blinked an eye, and that's how I ended up here. Alone, standing in front of the massive, black, wrought iron gates, trying to hold down vomit as I gaze upon the perfectly manicured lawn.

Whatever, I thought, I guess I should just head in and get this over with. With a small push the gates swung open, emitting a screech that seemed as though it could burst your eardrums. Nervously I bit my bottom lip and stepped into school grounds. Almost immediately the gates started swinging closed again and I had to step forward hastily to avoid being hit by them. Without pausing again I walked down the path towards the biggest building I could see.

The building was a huge, white, marble building complete with Greek-like columns whose tops were as far away as the clouds on Sanfransico mornings. Surprisingly, there were no doors into the building, simply a curtain of golden fabric that hung there limply. Astonishingly, I wasn't even the slightest bit nervous as I strode towards the doorway and pushed back the curtain feeling the fabric slide through my fingers like the silk covers on my mothers bed.

Inside the building was well lit, bathed in a gentle yellow-white light. The walls were covered in pictures that looked like people slaying monsters. There was one that contained a guy sitting on a palace chair, which, was weird because the guy looked exactly like my dad. The room itself had no other furniture except a small table and two leather chairs that looked ridiculously squishy. Not feeling much like standing I sank into the closest chair both hearing and feeling the air rushing out of the cushion on the chair.

After about two minutes a guy, with a seriously long beard that reminded me of the Dumbledore guy my sister Bianca was always going on about, swept into the room airily. He glanced at me revealing peircing, sky blue eyes before he sunk into the remaining chair gratefully.

"So, I take it that your Nico de Angelo." He started.

"Unfortunately," I replied rather bitterly not trying to hold back my dislike for the place. He pretended not to notice.

"I have your classes here and I can assign someone to show you around if you'd like." He said pulling out a folded up piece of paper.

"Thanks, but I think I've got it." I told him, trying not to come across as disrespectful as I took the folded up piece of paper.

"Alright, but don't hesite to ask anyone a question." He stated over his shoulder as he quickly left the room.

Okay, that was a little strange, but okay, you'll be okay Nico. You. Will. Be. Okay.

Shaking my head a to clear my doubt I left the room and glanced at the paper to see where I should head. The slip said my first class of the day was history. Groaning inwardly I debated skipping it, after all I just got here, but decided against it because this could be a good opportunity to meet new people. Maybe here I could even have friends, after all we were are "troubled", and rich too.

That thought in my head I set off towards a map looking thing on the side of a building. It was indeed a map and it showed exactly how large the 100 acre campus was. Luckily, the "You Are Here" dot was very close to the history building and took me almost no time to find it. It too, like all the other buildings were Greek-like in architecture, but held modern furniture.

There was only one class going on so I peeked my head in cautiously. Inside a boy with jet-black hair and green eyes was arguing with a blonde hair girl with grey eyes while the rest of the class watched them like they were a drama on TV. The rest of the class consisted of a tall, blonde guy who was very tan, a small petit girl with green hair (obviously dyed), a boy with a baby face and a girl with curly dark brown hair. In the back a trio of students sat the girl and one of the boys holding hands, and the other tinkering with some gears.

Awkwardly I snuck in and sat down, not seeing a teacher anywhere. I wonder if she's out of the room for some reason, I thought. Then, a strict looking woman strolled in and the class immediately snapped to attention. I guess she's not someone to be messed with.

"Class," she began, "we have a new student joining us now please welcome him."

Confused the class glanced around the room until each of their eyes settled on me. Each one offered a small smile or a twitch of their hand I can only assume was supposed to be a wave. Then, just as soon as they saw me they turned around and forgot about me. Not that I minded really, but I gave up on trying to make friends.

The rest of class flew by quickly, as did lunch, and my other classes. Heading to the dorms I found room 146 and flopped down on the unoccupied bed. Thinking to myself, this is living hell. Next thing I knew I was in a deep restful sleep.

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**So, this is my first try ever at writing fanfiction. I hope it's not to horrible. Also, if you have any suggestions or things I can improve on please feel free to tell me.**


	2. My New Roommate is Crazy?

**All of these characters belong to Rick Riordan. They are not mine.**

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Chapter 2: My New Roommate is Crazy?

I, Leo Valdez, am _not_ looking forward to getting a roommate. I like having my own space thank you very much and I do not need someone invading it. Especially if it was that boy that had transferred today. His name was Nick or something like that and he hadn't smiled even once during the entire day. He obviously had zero sense of humor, so, therefore, we aren't going to get along.

Right now I was walking behind my best friends, Jason and Piper, as we headed to dinner. Walking ahead of me the were holding hands and sharing inside jokes laughing hysterically. Occasionally one would steal a kiss from the other and they would laugh and giggle, happiness radiating off them.

I can't pretend that I'm not jealous of them, or the rest of the class for that matter. Hazel and Frank were obviously head over heels, Jason and Piper had been dating forever, and Percy, Annabeth, and Luke had a love triangle going. Even people who had a lower social status then me had a significant other. It wasn't fair at all. No one even liked me.

"Hey, Leo, do you want to hang out with me and Piper after dinner?" Jason asked me breaking my train of thought.

"Nah, I've got a ton of homework to do." I answered without my usual sarcastic flare. In truth I knew Piper and Jason would just make me feel like a third wheel, even though they didn't mean to.

"Okay man, that's cool." Jason said without really paying attention to Leo.

I walked the rest of the way in silence.

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The dinner pavilion was busy with students when we got there. There were students throwing things at each other, students getting food, and some kids were already starting on dessert.

The food here is amazing, and they have everything. Pizza? Got it. Pasta? Got it. Asian cuisine? Yep. Literally every type of hamburger and hot dogs were advaiable. Also, things like pancakes and PB&J. the drink were the greatest though, Arizonas, Snapples, water, fruit smoothies, ice cream shakes, and one of those soda mixers.

I got my usual order of pizza and a coke. Then, I sat down at my usual table with Percy, Annabeth, Luke, Jason, and Piper. Grover and his girlfriend Juniper also decided to join us tonight.

Percy was in the middle of telling a hilarious story about his mother, who was the best mom in the world by the way, and how she had gotten rid of his horrible step father. Annabeth was staring at Luke, like usual, while Luke ignored her, like usual, and stared at Percy. Piper and Jason were talking about their next date, as were Juniper and Grover. Again, I felt alone even though I was surrounded by people.

After dinner the rest of the table went to go get dessert, but I left for my dorm feeling tired. Walking back I marveld at the way the stars seemed to twinkle and how the moon illuminated the buildings around me. The entire campus seemed to be bathed in white. Strangely it filled me with a sense of peace.

Reaching the dorm building I entered and made my way up the stairs to 146 and opened the door. A loud snore emanated from the usually empty bed making me jump in suprise. _Well, _I thought, _I guess my roommates here already. At least I don't have to show them around. _Curiously I peeked at who it was and my heart sank.

It was the dark boy from earlier. He looked actually surprisingly peaceful as he slept, his face relaxed, not the guarded look he had been wearing all day. Dark hair spread around his head on his pillow revealed a small bruise on the left side of his forehead, as if someone had struck him.

Suddenly, he started muttering in his sleep, but I could quite make it out. His head twitched and before I knew it he had grabbed my neck, choking me. Panicing I jerked backward, only to make him pull me forward and squeeze me harder.

"Stop!" I choked out the best I could feeling lightheaded from lack of oxygen.

There was no response so I tried the only thing I could think of, smacking him in the face. That jolted him awake. However, he continued to choke me his eyes glazed over.

"S...top...n..ow...pl...ea," I gasped trying to pull his hands away.

His eyes cleared all of a sudden and he dropped me shaking and panting. For a few minutes all I could was lay on the floor gasping for breath trying to fight of the black tide that threatened to wash over me. I was _not _passing out in front of my new roommate.

"Sorry," I finally heard him say, "I was dreaming about my dad."

I didn't really want to know what happened with his dad to make him want to strangle him, but that's probably how he ended up here, so, instead, I stood up and retreated to the safety of my bed. A dark shadow flitted across his face and I felt a little guilt, but I was to freaked out to do anything about it.

"What's your name?" The boy asked

"Leo Valdez," I said. "What about you?"

"My name is Nico de Angelo." _Nico, _I knew nick was close.

"Nice to meet you." I said as politely as possible.

The boy started laughing, which, was weird because he didn't smile, but it was a laugh. His eyes seemed to gain a slight glint to them, not the clear, but dull that they had been before. They balanced out his to pale olive skin and bony face.

"I'm pretty sure your not supposed to say that to someone who tried to strangle you before even introducing themselves," He replied.

"Well, no, but I'm not known for doing what you _supposed to _that's to boring."

"So, what exactly do you do?"

"I do thing the g-Leo way." I explained hoping that he didn't hear my slip up as I almost said gay way. _Leo, _my inner voice scolded, _try not to scare him. He's going to be your roommate so, you should at least try to be friends._

He didn't seem to hear my slip up and instead replied that he would like to see how to do things the "Leo way" before drifting off to sleep.

Silently I cursed myself for the slip up. Nobody knew I was gay, not even Annabeth my closest friend. I hadn't told anyone and here I was almost giving it away to a stranger.

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**So, I hope that was an okay chapter. I wasnt quite sure how to portray Leo, but hopefully that was okay.**

**To answer BooksBeforeLife's question the pairings are probably going to be Percy/Annabeth, Grover/Juniper, Frank/Hazel, Piper/Jason, and Leo/Nico, but that's not set in stone and might change.**

**Again, feel free to tell me anything that I could be doing better or you would like me to add in.**

**Bye.**


	3. Budding Friendship?

**Hey! Sorry I haven't uploaded anything in a while I had the stomach bug for a couple of days and have been swamped with makeup work from school ever since. Anyways here's the next part. Enjoy!**

**Again all of these characters belong to Rick Riordan. Not me.**

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I awoke well rested and hungry. In fact, I couldn't remember eating dinner last night. Last night, my mind suddenly flew back to my conversation with Leo the night before. I can't believe I actually laughed at something he said. Did anything scream I'm desperate for some friends more than that. He wasn't even trying to make a joke. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Still scolding myself I got up and changed into my clothes; black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt that my sister had gotten me in New York. Grabbing a random hoodie from inside my bag I pulled it over my head feeling the heaviness of the fabric push me down slightly. Running my fingers through my hair I glanced in the one small mirror Leo had and felt pretty satisfied.

The sleep had taken away the bags under my eyes and my skin looked healthier than usual. My hair fell around my head in a pretty flattering way, for me at least. My eyes looked dull, but they weren't their usual glazed look.

Leaving the dorm I locked the door and tucked my key into my pocket. As I walked to the pavilion I mentally prepared myself for the day. There was not going to be any desprate for friends moments and no unnessicary smiling. It might be a little difficult not to be desperate or annoying, but I need to do it.

The walk was enjoyable and I could clear my mind at least a little with it. I made I to breakfast in time to get the Lucky Charms, which were extremely popular. I paused a little before sitting at an empty table to the left side of the pavilion.

Not more than two minutes pass and girl, with blonde hair that curled at the end, put her hand on my shoulder. Startled I looked up and saw surprising dark gray eyes and a pretty scary scowl.

"Hey," I said smiling weakly, "Can I help you with something?"

"Your sitting at me and my friends table." She replied, obviously offended I didn't know it was her table. However, it's not like I really could have known plus she was being rude. I couldn't help myself.

"I didn't know you owned the tables here. My apologies." I replied smoothly turning back to my breakfast.

"I don't own it, but I've sat here since I was six. I have to give permission for people to sit here."

"God, your really not that smart are you? If you don't own it then you can't tell me I can or can't sit here."

At this point the girl turned bright red and looked ready to burst out at me. Luckily one of her friend walked over just in time to stop her. I wasn't in the mood for any shit this morning.

"What's up Annabeth? Who's this?" Asked a tall, broad shouldered boy with green eyes and messy black hair.

"Oh my god Percy thank god your here! This little shit won't move!"

"'This little shit' can here you, you know." I intervened.

"Hey! Kid what's your name?" Percy asked rudely.

"None of your business." I answered.

"C'mon dude it's our table can't you go and sit somewhere else?" He asked.

"Nope," I said finishing my cereal and standing up. Walking away I decided to jab a little bit of guilt at them.

"It wouldn't have killed you to just sit with me." I said over my shoulder, and, without looking back, left the pavilion.

I still had about 45 minutes until my first class, so, naturally, I decided to explore.

The campus had tons of stuff including a library with tons of books, a pool, a gym, a computer lab, as well as at least 30 nature trails. I, of course, found myself exactly where I was back home. At the basketball court.

At home I played by myself everyday and with my friends whenever I could. The court was crack and weeds were growing everywhere, but I felt that if I could dribble a basketball there, then where couldn't I? The basketball I used was at least 6 years old and basically didn't hold air anymore.

Here though, the basketball court was amazing. The court looked newly paved and over on the side there was a pump lying on the ground along with a rack of basketballs, all new looking. Most excitingly, there were people there!

_Hey, Leo you got this. Go out and make some friends. Just play ball with them. It's not hard. _Unfortunately, despite my pep talk I couldn't go out there. Instead I observed.

There was four boys and a girl. One of the boys was in my classes yesterday; Luke I think his name was. Another one was an African American guy that had oil on his shirt; he probably had the mechanic class. The remaining two boys were (or at least seemed to be at this distance) identical. They had curly reddish brown hair.

The girl was the most interesting one of all though, her hair was black, but seemed to have streaks of color running through it. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to X-Ray your soul. Her nose was sprayed with freckles and she was wearing a Of Mice and Men t-shirt. I thought she seemed pretty cool.

After about 5 minutes of playing basketball they paused for a water break. None of them had noticed my and I inched closer to introduce myself, but when I heard them talking I stopped short.

"Thalia how's you girlfriend doing?" Sneered the Luke guy leaning in close to the girls face.

"I told you already! She's not my girlfriend!" Thalia spat

Luke backed down for a second before saying, "But you wish she was, right?"

"No! I don't!" Thalia exclaimed stopping her foot on the ground.

"Admit it!" growled Luke

"No." Thalia said adamantly.

Luke backed away and, for a second, looked like he was done. Then he punched her full force in the gut and sent Thalia flying. The rest of the boys followed Luke slowly across the basketball court cracking their knuckles.

Without thinking I shouted, "Hey! Leave her the fuck alone!"

_Shit! Why did I say that? _I asked myself.

All at once the heard of boys swung around menacingly. Luke, whom was the obvious leader, grinned horribly in my direction looking like a dog about to eat steak. Gulping I took a breath to calm myself and looked directly into his eyes.

"What'd you say punk?" He asked

"I said you should leave her alone. What are you deaf or something?" I snapped back. _Yep, I'm gonna get beat up._

Before I could even react Luke was on top of me, knocking me down, pushing the air out of my lungs, and then, punching my square in the jaw. In reaction to the pain I curled up and that invited a volley of hard kicks to my back. I decided not to get up, I wasn't supposed to fight and let them beat me up. A moment later a sharp kick came to the head and I blacked out.

When I came to Thalia was checking my pulse.

"Jesus Christ!" I swore, "I'm not dead!"

"Could've fooled me. Do you even have a pulse?"

"Um... Everyone does?" I said more like a question then an answer.

"Okay, yeah, whatever. Uh the bells about to ring, but thanks for saving my ass back there. Bye!" Thalia said all in one breath before rushing off.

"Wait!" I yelled after her

"What?"

"Will I see you around?"

"Sure."

"Okay," I said with a smile. Maybe we could be friends after all.

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**Please feel free to send in reviews on what I need to improve on and stuff. Or maybe something you'd like to see? Anyway thanks for reading! **

**Bye!**


	4. The Project

**Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: The Project

A blaring noise filtered into my dreams waking me quickly. Sitting up fast I slammed my hand down on the ancient alarm clock and stretched, feeling my back crack multiple times. Slowly I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep off them.

Glancing over at the twin bed I saw that Nico had already left. _Shit, I hope he doesn't get lost _I thought. I remembered what it was like to be new here; everything so big, and everything so confusing. However, you do get used to it pretty quickly.

Next, I noticed the dark grey duffel bag sitting on the end of the bed. It's top was open, and it was obvious that someone had recently gone through it. Peeking out of the top was a corner of a book and a grey t-shirt. Curiously I got out of bed, crossed the room, and picked the book up. Only... It wasn't a book.

Instead, it was a picture frame of him and an older man outside a popular Miami hotel. Nico was young, probably 6 or 7, but he had the same black hair and brooding face. The man had a scowl on, but otherwise they didn't even look close to each other. I couldn't decide if that was his dad or not.

A noise outside the door snapped me out of it and I hastily shoved the picture back into the bag, exactly as he found it. Jumping back from the bed quickly I stepped on one of my pipe cleaner creations. Probably the dragon I'd been working on. _Damn._

I quickly pulled on some clothes; a loose fitting orange t-shirt, jeans, and his army jacket. My hair was an absolute mess, but, from experience, I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I grabbed a pop tart from under my bed and scarfed. Then, satisfied I was ready, pulled open the door and walk out onto the freshly manicured lawn.

Deciding I didn't really want to see Annabeth, Percy, Luke, Hazel, Frank, Jason, or Piper I walked towards the river. Nobody ever went there because the place was creepy, the air itself held a cold like it had never seen the light of day. It is always dimly lit, but the plants seem to glow. It was unearthly and many people didn't like it. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool.

Checking my watch I realized I only had about twenty minutes to kill before class started and, don't get me wrong, but here at this school they go overboard for punishments. I mean, their pretty relaxed about everything, but if you're late, if you drink, if you do drugs, or you cheat your facing everything from suspension to detention, scrubbing to peeling. One time I was late for gym-yeah, only gym!-and I had to peel all the gum off the bleachers in our 5 gym school. Even underneath. They checked really well too.

The river is dark, sliding past almost silently and trees overhanging it feel like they hold a dark secret. I perch at the end of a rock over hanging the river. Though it looks deep the river here is actually really shallow, about 7 inches deep to be exact and I can tell you it hurts like hell when you fall in.

I thought about my roommate. He seemed sorta lonely, but, then again,he wasn't much of a talker. He's probably going to be a ghost meaning I'm going to be aware he was in the room at some point, but I'll never actually see him.

I keep thinking about it as I walk towards the history building. If I remember correctly today we were starting a new project, that we needed partners on. _Shit. _I hate partners. Nobody ever wants to be mine or they do, but only because I can get them a good grade. Plus we have to do presentations and I make jokes throughout it, which, unfortunately, cuts down on my score.

I loved the history building. It was so impressive, not only on the outside, but inside too. The floor was perfectly level, as was the ceiling. The was were marble, perfectly polished and cut. You couldn't even see or feel the seems of the slab. It was an architectural wonder.

I took my usual seat at the back left side of the room and watched as my classmates slowly filtered in. Percy, Annabeth, and Luke came in first, bickering amongst themselves as usual. Juniper strolled in next with a coffee mug in her hand, slumped in her chair, and immediately started to snore. Hazel waltz in next yelling a 'Good Morning!' to everyone while pulling Frank. Last my two best friends in the world, Piper and Jason, walked in holding hands. Yet another reminder I'm all alone.

Sighing I remembered that Nico was in this class too. Scanning the room I confirmed I hadn't missed him come in.

_ Where is he? I hope he didn't get lost. Geez I should've given him a map of the school._

While I was worrying about him he slipped in a sat down opposite to me in the back. His face looked a little puffy and I wondered if he'd been crying. He didn't strike me as someone who would, but who knew.

I stopped looking over at him and snapped my attention to the front of the room because Mrs. Dodds had just walked in. She was to strictest, most no nonsense person you will ever meet. Even her hair was afraid to misbehave, it stayed perfectly in her way to tight bun all day.

"If you remember correctly I told the class yesterday that we are starting a new project. Based on what I have seen about your work in this class you are paired accordingly."

The class groaned collectively as she started to read of the list of partners.

"Annabeth and Juniper, Piper and Percy, Jason and Hazel, Frank and Luke, and Nico and Leo. Now get with your partners."

_Why am I paired with him? Just because I'm his roommate? Whatever. Nico just better do his part of the work. _

Nico plopped down next to me and slouched down. His black hair fell into his face, covering his eyes which we surprisingly dark. The contrast of his hair and eyes on his snow white pale skin was startling, but not ugly.

"You need to discuss with you partner and decide on a Greek myth to research and rewrite as a fictional short story. You must use the original mind." Mrs. Dodds explained.

"I hope your a good writer," I whispered to Nico.

"Nope," Nico muttered darkly.

My heart sank. We are so going to fail this project.

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**Hey hope this is okay. Again, sorry about not uploading more. Hopefully from now on I will be more on top of that.**

**Bye for now!**


	5. A Place All My Own

**Hey everyone! Thank you to all that have followed this story. It honestly means so much to me because this is my first try at writing fanfiction and I need to support.**

**Again, these characters do not belong to me. They all belong to Rick Riordan.**

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Chapter 5: A Place All My Own

It's now 4 in the afternoon. The sidewalks are strangely deserted of the hundreds of students that usually mill about. That being said there's a dorm inspection coming up and they probably have to hide all the illegal things in their rooms. Instead of cleaning my dorm (I actually haven't even unpacked) I've been out searching campus for a place that I can go when I'm playing hooky.

After 2 hours of searching my legs hurt and I'm hot, but I'm no closer to finding a place than I was 2 hours ago. Walking past our dorms I contemplate going in, but can't convince myself to a walk past going in the opposite direction of the dining pavilion. A well shaded area under the cover of some trees catch my eye.

To anyone else the trees would appear sinister, dark, and secretive, but I see a lonely group of trees who long for someone who's not afraid of them. Approaching them I notice a river flowing through the center of the glade. A big rock juts out over the river and I sit on that. Immediately the cold seeps through my jeans, cooling me.

I watch the river flow past. Oddly, the water is silent, making no noise as it slides past on its journey to the sea. The water is black and you can't see the bottom. It's impossible to tell wether it's deep or not, but I'd say it's pretty shallow given the fact there's no ripples on its glassy surface and the wideness suggests spreading instead of digging.

Cautiously I dip my toe in the water. My foot immediately feels as though it is made out of ice and I jump back a little shocked. It's early September, it really shouldn't be that cold, but if the water is from underground springs and has been in the shade most of its trek I guess it makes sense.

Settling back down on the rock I lay on my stomach and ponder the world for a while.

My father is the first thing that comes to mind. There's no way he'd let me go elsewhere, but I might be able to convince him to let Bianca go here. Before I left for the academy she had said that she'd join me if at all possible, but father wanted her to go to an all girls finishing school. They couldn't even email or call each other because Bianca school didn't allow it.

Thinking of Bianca reminded me exactly how alone in this world I am. I remembered the Thalia girl. I hadn't seen her since the basketball incident, but I still looked for her at the dining pavilion when I went. However, I haven't seen her yet.

Leo was the only other person I'd talked to in an even remotely friendly way. He is overbearingly friendly and very over the top. Not really the kind of person that I'd normally want to be friends with, but I must admit I am getting desperate for at least one.

Plus, I get the feeling Leo knows exactly what it's like to be an outsider. I mean, even in his group of friends Hazel and Frank are dating, but Frank doesn't seem to trust him and Hazel isn't particularly interested in him. His best friends Piper and Jason are dating and he's the third wheel a lot. Then there's Luke, Percy, and Annabeth who have a serious love triangle going, with no room for Leo.

Why do I know all of this about him? Your not even really friends. Honestly I felt myself constantly aware of him; who he was interacting with and what he's doing.

_Probably because you want to be his friend so badly._ I reassured myself because I only wanted to be friends with him, right? I mean, sure he was kinda cute, but I only liked him as a friend, right? Suddenly confused I groaned and rolled over onto my back and look up at what I thought would be leaves. Instead, there was Leo peering down at me a slight frown tugging at his mouth before he gave a wide smile.

"Leo? What are you doing here?" I asked curiously while pushing myself into a sitting position.

"Uh... This is my.. Uh... Spot." He sputtered out obviously shaken to see someone else there.

"Oh! Ah sorry," I said. "I'll leave if you want me to."

_This blows_, I thought. I really was starting to like the spot, but if it's already taken I have to leave.

"No! I mean, stay if you want!" Leo exclaimed. "Honestly, I don't care if your here."

"Fine." I answered shortly.

"So... Why are you here?" Leo asked.

"I just needed a place to think. Is that what you usually do here?"

"Well, that and eat."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"Hey, Nico."

"What?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"My dad."

"Oh. Is he a good dad?"

I laughed bitterly before answering, "Nope." Quickly I brushed my pants off and started to leave.

"I'm sorry." Said Leo.

"Not your fault." I replied and left in search of a place to think again.

I really needed a place that's all my own, I reflected. I strolled around for sometime more before stumbling upon another good place in the forest.

The spot was about 300 feet off of the main trail, but it was well hidden from view. There was a pile of rocks that contains a shallow cave. Inside there was a rock, about the height of a chair and a smooth rock I could technically write or paint on I if I started that again.

The place was cold, but then again I'm always cold. Plus, here there's even less of a chance of someone finding me here than at the river. In addition, the trees here are even creepier that the ones at the river, which, is probably why nobody hikes the nature trails.

Leo had said the other day that the only ones who actually used them were the nature club. Aka Grover's girlfriend Juniper and her hot (and apparently fearless) friends. Everyone else was afraid of the 'ghosts' that haunted the forest, or, really, had no reason to go in.

Happily I settled down to acquaint myself with the spot so I really would have a place all my own.

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**Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading this! Remember that I would like any feedback or suggestions. Don't be shy! I want to get better.**

**Anyways, bye 'till tomorrow!**


	6. Guardian Angels

**Hey, sorry for not updating. (I know I'm horrid). Theres been a lot going on in my life and I needed a break from the internet. **

**These characters belong to Rick Riordan**

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Chapter 6: Guardian Angels

The dining pavilion was crowded making it nearly impossible for me to fight my way over to my friends table. When I finally reached them my plate had only about half as much food as I'd started with, but I didn't mind because I wasn't really hungry. Placing my stuff down I squeezed into my usual spot and tuned into the conversation.

"…And the annoying little prick wouldn't move!" Annabeth nearly yelled, obviously incensed about something.

"Yeah. Does anyone even know who he is? I didn't recognize him." Percy said in return.

"Who you guys talking about?" I asked casually. After all, I may know who it was and be able to tell them.

"This prick that was at our table today and wouldn't move even after I nicely explained the situation of how people can sit here." Annabeth said like he had personally offended her by sitting at a table that she didn't even own.

"What did 'this prick' look like?" I asked because, surely, I couldn't figure out who it was without knowing what he looked like.

"Umm... Dark hoodie, dark jeans, black hair, pale skin, scowl." Annabeth listed.

"Oh! He's in our history class, right?" Piper exclaimed.

"Yep," Percy replied, "Just can't remember his name."

"Nico," I said, "He's my new roommate."

"That sucks dude!" Luke said laughing. "He doesn't sound very cheery."

"He's alright." Was all I replied; I didn't really want to discuss it right now.

Luckily the conversation ended as Frank tried to get up and successfully tipped the table on its side. Unfortunately, I need up with food and soda all over me.

"Hey!" I shouted as a scooped up some mashed potatoes and hurled them at Frank. They landed squarely on the back of his head and slid downwards.

"Your on!" Frank shouted as he turned and chucked peas at me. However, sports weren't really his thing and he hit Annabeth instead.

Soon all of us where chucking food back and forth at each other. Screaming and laughing none of us really cared what the people around us thought of us. Some other people even joined in leaving the remaining to run for it with their hands on their head protecting themselves. Hopefully the teachers didn't come and get us because we'd definitely be in trouble.

"Children!" I heard someone thunder.

_ Fuck_. My heart sank.

"Yes, sir?" Hazel asked as innocently as possible.

"Explain what is going on here. Why is there food being flung?"

"Uh... This is a food fight sir." Hazel said lamely, covered in food.

"Join us!" Grover screamed and tossed bread at the man-our headmaster-who caught it and chucked it back, hard.

"Fuck yeah!" Juniper yelled, just as enthusiastically as Grover.

Thus, began the food fight of the century including most of our school, our headmaster, and a couple teachers, who were following the headmasters lead. Not to mention, the food was the most amazing cafeteria food in the USA.

The chaos caused my adrenaline to go through the roof. I was pelting food at everyone and everything I could see. The physical release of my energy was exhilarating and I sort of wished thing like this happened more often. Then, I slipped on something and landed hard on my butt sending shock waves of pain up and down my back.

"Agh!" I yelled surprised, although I shouldn't have been because this is exactly what happened every time I tried to be active.

"Loser." I heard someone growl in my ear.

It was then that I realized I had somehow migrated from my side of the cafeteria to the bullies side.

I gulped, "Hey there Clarisse."

"Hey punk." She replied and I could hear the smile in her voice without even seeing her.

Nervously I said, "Can I just leave?"

"Nope," Clarisse responded sounding even more threatening.

I was unsurprised as she picked me up by the collar of my shirt and started towards the bathroom. I was surprised, however, when she told her minions to stay behind. That had never, ever happened before. She was never alone and always had companions with her; even though they served her more as body guards then friends.

The bathroom was a small building that had a girls side and a boys side. Each side contained bathrooms, showers, bath tubs, washing machine and dryer, and extra toothbrushes, tooth paste, soap, and washcloths.

We were maybe ten feet from the door to the girls when Clarisse realized that people where in both sides. She stopped up short and stood still. I quickly deduced that she was eating for the next available room. For some reason she didn't want an audience today.

To my great surprise Nico walked out of the boys and circled around to the girls to yell in the girls side. He didn't glance our way, and Clarisse clamped her hand over my mouth to prevent me from talking. I tried to bite, but she pushed hard under my jaw. I stopped immediately.

"Thalia!" Nico called in, "Are you almost done?"

"Yep!" Thalia replied perkily after appearing out of nowhere with her hair still soaking wet from her shower.

"Then move your butt!" Nico barked.

Thalia vanished quickly then appeared with her black backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She looked up, past Nico and gasped when she saw me.

"Leo!" She yelled as she rushed towards me and Clarisse. "Are you okay?"

I would have said something only Clarisse's grip on my shirt was to tight. Coughing I tried to squirm free. The growing black wave trying to overtake my caused me more panic and my breaths quickened in pace pushing the black wave forwards.

**Flashback:**  
_ The air was uncomfortably warm. It smelled like smoke and I realized that my mother was gone._

_ "Mom? Mom! MOM!" I called out, "Answer me!"_

_ Rushing to the garage door I saw her crushed under a steel beam on the left. I rushed forward to help her, but the right side collapsed and I hesitated._

_ "Honey?" My mom asked just noticing me, "Run baby! I'm so sorry! I won't make it out! Run! I love you!"_

_ "I love you to Mom." I said as tears spilled down my cheeks. "Please don't go."_

_ "I'm sorry. Honey go or you'll die! You'll never meet you guardian angels."_

_ "Really?" I asked tearfully. I had been obsessed with meeting mine for ages._

_ She was crying, I was crying, and I stood by watching her burn and then, turned and left not feeling the scorching of the fire. I could hardly see and the entire house was engulfed in flames. A firefighter found me wandering around the kitchen and brought me out._

_ "Are there any other people?" He asked in a gravely voice, probably from smoke._

_ "None that are alive."_

I jolted awake to see Nico and Thalia looking down at me. Clarisse was gone and it was substantially darker than I remembered.

"Where's Clarisse?"

"We told her to get lost." Thalia answered shortly.

"Thank you." I said absentmindedly thinking that these two really could be my guardian angels.

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**So, that wasn't really anything to do with the story I just wanted to introduce a little of Leo's past. Thank you for the follows and the reviews! (Honestly I'm a little shocked people want to read my story)**

**Again sorry for not updating sooner. **


	7. Unreachable

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating lately Ive started taking way more challenging classes and it's been hard to keep up. I've been writing whenever I have time, but I just haven't had that much.**

**Disclaimer: these characters all belong to Rick Riordan.**

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After Leo awoke me and Thalia carried him home because he was to shaky to walk himself. Right now he was sleeping peacefully; the blankets were up to his chin and tucked all around him creating a cocoon. Occasionally he muttered in his sleep, but I was mostly left alone in my thoughts.

Redirecting my brain from thinking about my father I thought about tonight. After classes I had decided to wander around a bit and got a little lost. After passing the girls dorm for what must have been the fifth time Thalia emerged.

"Nico!" She called sounding surprised, "Is that you?"

"Oh...um...Hey Thalia," I called back really awkwardly. Honestly I just didn't want to have to admit I was lost. I had to stay cool in all situations.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" She asked innocently.

"Just...just walking around a bit." I answered unconvincingly.

She gave me a bit of a look, but decided to play along saying, "Cool! Say do you want to eat dinner together?"

I must have looked at her a little funny because she added hopefully, "So we can get to know each other better?"

"At the dining pavilion?" I asked curiously because I was suddenly a little scared. That place was full of kids who hated me. No way was I going there.

"No, silly!" Thalia said, "Up in the woods. I have a stash of food hidden in my dorm and I know this really cool spot, which, hopefully won't be flooded right now."

"Okay," I agreed grinning. "Sounds fun."

"One other thing." Thalia said as we were hiking along a well worn trail. "If were caught we get a whole month of detentions."

"What!?" I said, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because you'd probably chicken out." Thalia stated matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't of! I just like to know what I'm getting myself into." I protested.

Suddenly a twig snapped behind us. We both froze fear filling our eyes and our imaginations running wild. All I could picture was a hungry wolf jumping out and gobbling us up. Thalia too seemed anxious and nervous; fidgeting with the straps of her backpack.

"I know your out there," a voice called. "Come out now and you won't get many detentions."

We both let out a sigh of relief hearing another human. However, we could now see the flashlight beam of whomever it was.

"Shit!" Thalia cursed.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Down there! Quick!" Thalia whispered roughly pointing down the hill, which the trail was running horizontally through.

Both of us rushed to it as quickly as possible and tried to be quiet, but it was slippery and hard to control yourself. At the bottom both of us splashed onto a muddy stream bank coating us in the disgusting liquid.

_Oh, man! This bag is going to be ruined and I just got it_, I thought heartbroken. I really liked it.

The flashlight beam suddenly shown on us from behind. _Crap! We are so getting caught._

Looking desperately at Thalia she gestured to the other side of the stream. I nodded in response. We had to go over the stream; there wasn't anywhere else to go. The mud sucked at our shoes and threatened to swallow them. The sucking noises were disgusting and loud, which clearly alerted our pursuer where we were. Reaching the stream we both jumped in without hesitation.

The water was only knee deep-thank god!-but was icy cold. In the short five steps I took my legs were numb. Scrambling up the opposite bank we both took off towards the lights that we could see from one of the buildings.

The light didn't seem to chase us out and we breathed a giant sigh of relief. Turning to Thalia I saw a look of relief on her face as well. When our gazes met we burst out laughing.

"Man, I thought we where goners." She said shaking her head laughing.

"So did I for a bit." I answered truthfully.

"Well, we should probably get cleaned up now, right?" She asked taking in our muddy shoes, pants and arms along with the sweat that was created from all the running. Man we must smell really bad, I thought.

"That's probably a good idea."

"Showers?"

"Definitely, but first lets stop by our dorms and get clean clothes."

We managed not to get anything to dirty in our dorms and gather a fresh set of clothes before hitting the showers. The place reeked of citrus and I wrinkled my nose a little in disgust. Although, I forgot about the scent as the hot water ran down my body relaxing my muscles and cleaning the dirt off me.

However, after about ten minutes the water got to hot, so I hopped out. I pulled on my jeans, shirt, and hoodie feeling the soft cloth against my bare arms. Walking around to the other door I called in to Thalia who answered that she was almost done. When she came out I was about to suggest that we got eat when she tensed up and suddenly took off.

Turning to see what she was after I saw Leo hanging from a big brutes hand; his feet barely touching the ground. Thalia slammed into the girl with all her might easily knocking the bigger girl to the ground. However, the girl fell onto Leo squashing him underneath her. I winced knowing that wasn't going to feel good later.

"Nico! Nico get Leo out of here!" Thalia yelled as she dodged the second or third powerful swing from the girl.

Her voice spurred my into action and I grabbed Leo trying to pull him towards the bathroom building out of the way of the two fighting girls. Leo was actually a lot heavier than I expected and I honestly couldn't move him very far, so I gave up and tried to direct where the fight was going. The fight ended soon after when a tall blonde guy showed up with a fierce looking girl at his side.

They walked up threateningly and the boy said, "Hey Clarisse. Long time no see." Clarisse backed away from Thalia pretty quickly and sneered at them as well as she could to salvage her pride before slinking off. The boy followed her after giving his companion quick instructions.

"You okay Thalia?"

"Yeah. She didn't even hit me."

"Tell me what happened." The girl demanded harshly.

"Leo was being chocked by Clarisse when we came out so I picked a fight with her." Thalia explained.

"Shes been more and more trouble lately." The girl responded shaking her head throwing the dark brain from left to right. She looked tired and worried for a couple of seconds before she regained her composure. Standing to leave she said, "Make sure Leo gets enough care."

Both me and Thalia turned to him and looked down watching as he flicked his eyelids open.

A slight noise snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked over a Leo. He seemed to be becoming restless and I wondered if he was waking up.

I hovered anxiously a few feet away waiting for him to awake only to have him roll over. His dark, curly hair flopped in his face. His nose twitched a little reminding me of the bunny Bianca used to have. His eyelashes fluttered a little and I couldn't help but think that he looked the tiniest bit cute.

_Wait a second there Nico. You can't go falling for your 100% straight roommate._ I chided myself. Why do I always fall for those who are so unreachable?

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**And thus ends this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll add another as soon as possible. Again, I apologize for the inconsistent uploads.**


	8. Starting the Project

**Hey! I just barely finished this update and am to lazy to edit it, so I'm apologizing now for the large amount there probably are. In two more weeks I'm done with my job, so I may have some extra time (I'm not really the socializing type) to finish updates.**

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Starting the Project

Nico and I had decided to meet after school today in the library to find a myth for History. It was actually due in two days, but what can I say? We're both procrastinators.

I was currently sitting by the river again. Yesterday night had scared me. I never thought Clarisse would actually go as far as to try something, but thank god it was just her or Thalia wouldn't have been able to anything. Clarisse and I have never exactly gotten along, but she's never specifically targeted me.

Frowning I flipped over so my stomach was pressed against the cool, grey rock. The cold seemed in chilling my usually hot body. Goosebumps formed on my neck and arms, but not from the cold. I could sense someone looking at me, however, they didn't feel like a threatening presence so I didn't react. _It's probably Nico again_, I thought to myself.

Surprisingly, it was Hazel who plopped down next to me a few seconds later. I took a moment to appreciate her outfit. Honestly, I preferred the way she dressed to Piper because Hazel has modesty. Piper just seemed to put it all out there, and yes, that is what she's comfortable in, but I've never been comfortable around girls like that.

Today Hazel was wearing her white Doctor Who t-shirt that reads 'Don't worry I'm a doctor' with the Tardis underneath it. The shorts matched the blue of the Tardis and she wore black foam flip-flops whom had clearly seen better days. Her hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail which was barely containing her wild mane of hair.

"Hey Hazel," I said rather dully.

"Hey Leo," she said. "Have you been feeling well lately?"

"Yeah," I replied automatically. Truthfully I was freaked out by what happened last night, but I didn't want to worry her.

Hazel just grunted in response, but I could tell she didn't believe me. Thankfully, she didn't press her luck and instead changed the subject to school.

"How is your writing assignment coming along for History?" She asked innocently.

"Haven't started," I replied keeping the stress that I was feeling about that out of my voice. It was due in two days.

"Who's your partner?"

"Nico, my new roommate."

"Oh, cool," Hazel said, not sounding quiet done, so I waited for whatever she had to say. _It's probably something bad about him that she heard from your 'friends'._

"He's sorta cute," she blurted out randomly. "Don't you think?"

I didn't say anything, instead turning bright red and looking down at my hands which were clasped together._ You don't like him, do you? _I asked myself; almost challenging myself to say I did. _No_, I decided, _definitely not_. _No way._

"I guess," I finally mumbled, but it sounded fake because I answered to late.

She grinned then got up and left, leaving me to work out what was up with her. After about fifteen wasted minutes trying to figure out Hazels motives for asking that question I pushed myself up and headed to the library.

On the way there I passed multiple groups of friends, including mine, but they hardly even acknowledged me. Hurt I walked faster. No matter what I do, not matter how many friends I have, I always end up feeling isolated.

The library was another impressive building that the campus held, this particular one was a Queen Ann Victorian style. It was all different shades on blue and green, reminding me a lot of the ocean. It's porch sagged in a little, but I loved the look of the weathered, gray boards. The door was a beautiful light blue, with a little bit of orange showing through the chips.

Inside was just as cool. The walls and ceiling came together at weird angles, creating knocks and crannies, which were stuffed with books. In the center there were four large, circular, wooden tables surrounded by some wooden chair with fabric cushions. There were small lamps all along the walls that looked like lanterns. All of them were different colors, depending on what genre they were near.

I headed over the lime green (myths/lore/legends) and quickly found the Greek myths. Dragging a stack of books over I plopped them down on a table. The door pinged and I looked up to see Nico enter looking as awkward as usual. Seeing that he saw me I sat down and pulled a book close to me, before I could turn bright red remembering the conversation with Hazel.

Nico came over, but didn't sit. Instead he leaned his elbows on the table and watched me for a couple seconds. I tried my hardest to concentrate, but I couldn't.

Finally I said, "Can I help you?"

"What's the plan?"

"Just read and find one that's good. Then we can discuss it later."

"Fine," he said as he grabbed a book and sat down across from me. We sat like that for a long time, but at the same time it felt short. We were encased in our own silent world, warm and comfortable. It had all that we needed at the time, but someone else came into study and at the chime of bells we snapped back to reality.

Nico stood and gestured to the book in his hand, "I'll finish this and tell you what I find."

"Okay," I replied not looking up. I could feel the blush warming my cheeks again.

"So...uh see you around," he mumbled and left.

I raised my head so I could just barely see him and watched him leave marveling at how awkward one person could be when their moving. He was tall, but hunched over as if to make himself appear smaller and his limbs were sort of sticking out in weird angels because of the book he was carrying.

I turned back to my reading and heard the bells chime a few seconds later. The story was about Medusa. To my surprise she used to be a beautiful young woman before she was turned into a monster._ It must have been unfair_, I reflected, _to not only be turned into a monster, but to lose your boyfriend too because of it._ Sighing I flipped back a few pages and marked it with a sticky note. We could easily make this into a modern story. Already my brain was churning, thinking, of the easiest way to do this. We really need to start this project.


End file.
